Tree Topper Top Hat

Using the instruction from the mini top hat tutorial http://overthecrescentmoon.blogspot.com/2011/08/mini-top-hat-tutorial.html, I made a tree topper for the little tinsel tree in Blaze's room.

I started off by drilling a hole into the bottom of the hat, so that a light could be inserted and it could sit on the top of the tree.



Next, I cut a circle out of the crown of the hat and glued a clear plastic circle in place, filling the hole. In this case, the plastic came from the box that holds this year's Christmas cards. Designs can be drawn on the plastic ahead of time with a Sharpie, but since this was a trial run, to see if this idea would work, I just glued gears in place on top of the plastic.

I was actually working from an already sewn hat that was laying around the house, but it would probably be much easier to do the crown of the hat if the plastic was glued in place before the crown was sewn down.



I decided to keep the hat decorations simple, but that is just a matter of taste.





When the light inside the hat is lit, it casts a circle of gear shapes on the ceiling.

I think I want to try this with a cheap regular-size top hat from the party store and stained-glass paint for the designs.